It goes without saying that we won’t get this awesome V8-powered Land Rover Defender in America

The limited-edition Land Rover Defender Works V8, fording a stream somewhere in a land not our own.

Production of Land Rover’s storied Defender ceased in 2016, and we won’t get a clear look at its all-new successor until later this year. But the Land Rover folks can’t let the old truck die, and the marque’s 70th anniversary -- Land Rover was formed in 1948 -- provided just the right amount of pretext to announce a special batch of Defenders re-engineered for modern 5.0-liter V8 power.

None, we’re sorry to say, will be sold in the United States. Sorry.

Offered through the company’s Land Rover Classic division, these Defenders are essentially factory restomods. The engine is a naturally aspirated V8 (by all indications, the company’s AJ133 ), good for 400 hp and roughly 380 lb-ft of torque. It’s mated to a modern ZF eight-speed -- this is basically Range Rover running gear tucked under vintage sheetmetal. Springs, dampers and antiroll bars are brought up to date. The interior is trimmed in Windsor leather, too -- this isn’t a work truck by any stretch of the imagination.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

Share

Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

Share

Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

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Land Rover will build 'up to' 150 of these luxurious Defender Works V8 trucks in both 90- and 110-inch wheelbase configurations. Combining the Defender's classic looks with modern power, they will be offered through Land Rover Classic -- but not to buyers in the United States.

Related

Land Rover says it will build “up to” 150 of these Defenders in either 90- or 110-inch wheelbase configurations. They’re obviously positioned as limited-edition collectors’ items, something reinforced by their $200,000-plus (!) price tags. And we will reiterate that none of them are earmarked for the U.S. market.

Why not? Even if Land Rover based these trucks on specimens old enough to be brought stateside under our 25-year vehicle importation laws, things get tricky when vehicles to be imported have anything but a stock powertrain. It makes the EPA mad, apparently.

Thing is, it shouldn’t be too difficult to put one of these things together on your own if you’re so inclined. Defenders are highly sought-after in America and were only sold new here in small batches, but more and more are becoming importable every year. Our advice? Line up an overseas example from 1993 or earlier, preferably one with a clapped-out motor, scare up a salvage-yard AJ133 motor to cram under the hood while it’s making its way across the Atlantic and boom! A homebrew Defender Works V8 at a fraction of the cost that still packs more power than British Leyland could have ever imagined.

It might not be as cleanly engineered as the pricey official buggy, and you won’t get the anniversary badges on the sides, but desperate times call for desperate measures ...

Photo

The Defender Works V8 will nail the 0-60 mph run in an estimated 5.6 seconds, which fast for an old box on wheels.